- Perplexity has updated its Comet Assistant AI to multitask across browser tabs
- Comet can also complete more difficult and complex multi-step quests
- The AI now also asks for user permission before acting directly in the browser
Perplexity Comet Assistant was built to do things online for you. A new update improves the AI to do so on a much larger scale, allowing the revamped assistant to work across multiple tabs and stick to more complex tasks for longer stretches.
Comet is the center of Perplexity’s AI-infused browser. AI is always present as you browse the web, pick up tasks, and streamline research and digital paperwork. The update gives Comet a longer attention span and sharper web awareness. Comet also has a better sense of boundaries, with AI now asking for permission before taking action in your browser.
Comet’s ability to handle multiple types of actions at once is the standout improvement. AI can multitask across tabs and apps to complete tasks and mimic human behavior. Instead of jumping back and forth between tabs for research, data entry, and reference, Comet will look at all three for you at once. —
And the new version of Comet Assistant is better at analyzing complex web environments. This means it can do more with less micro-management. You can e.g. ask it to look at multiple websites for flight deals at once.
Of course, empowering AI means rethinking how it earns your trust. To that end, the team added a user control layer that puts you right in the driver’s seat. If Comet detects that a task could run more smoothly by directly clicking links, filling out forms, or extracting data from a page, it will ask for your green light. That choice continues through the rest of the task.
Agent Comet
Perplexity claims there is some measurable improvement with the upgraded Comet. Internal tests show a 23% improvement in successful task completion compared to the previous version. However, the real significance is how well it handles multi-step instructions. Comet is much more likely to do long, branching tasks that require context and follow-up.
All of this is good news for the average user who opens a browser in the morning, gets distracted by ten unrelated tabs, and ends the day wondering what really got done. Comet now acts as a background assistant that notices the mess and offers to clean it up, like pulling data from school attendance portals to ensure you’re on top of how often your child has missed class.
While competitors like Opera’s Neon and OpenAI’s Atlas AI browser are experimenting with autonomous AI helpers, Comet has taken a hands-on approach.
Of course, there are still limits. Comet can’t yet run entire projects without supervision, and it doesn’t always understand nuance or prioritize tasks like you might. But it comes closer to something more reliable, within limits. But if you’re bombarded with browser chaos, Comet might have enough virtual hands to sort it all out.
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